Archives by Tag 'Issue #72'

Former Robert Morris Head Coach, Kenneth (Bear) Davis, takes you through the best play in lacrosse: the Give ‘n Go. This drill really teaches your players to move and be active off the ball. The Give ‘n Go is a great play that keeps your players aggressive and looking to score, often scoring a quick goal as a defender may get lazy when the offensive player gives up the ball.

Give ‘n Go Drill

How it works:

This drill is made up of players in a line about 20 yards directly out in front of the goal. You then position one coach about 10 yards out in front of the goal and 10 yards outside of the pipe. If you want, you can have two coaches one on each side of the cage so that you can have players working on both their left and right hands. The first player in line passes the ball to a coach. As soon as he passes, he makes a back cut and then runs towards the goal, receives the ball back from the coach, and then runs and shoots on the goal. Make sure that the player demands the ball right back and has their stick up in a position to catch the ball. You can either have an empty goal or put out cones that designate where the players have to shoot from in order to protect your goalie.

Ricky Fried, Georgetown University Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach & US Women’s National Team Head Coach, has his players working on approaching and defending the opposing ball-carrier. Players organize themselves in a triangle with two offensive players at the base and a defender at the point. When the offensive players exchange the ball, the defender approaches the ball carrier and breaks down in their defensive position. The offensive player then carries the ball ten yards while the defender continues to defend them. Coach Fried focuses on approach, body position, and effective stick checks that can be employed in this defensive situation.

2014 NCAA Championship Coach, John Danowski, ensures his teams are in excellent shape. In the following drill, Danowski has his team performing the Speedskater Sprint motion on each leg, followed by a sprint to finish the drill. This drill will strengthen your players’ legs, create a powerful “first-step,” and will allow them to change direction at full speed without losing their balance.

Speedskater Sprint

The concept of the drill is to have the player jump to their left or right from a static position, and land on the outside leg. With the inside leg never touching the ground, the outside leg is taking the force of the jump along with the body weight. This strengthens the legs, hips and balance of the athlete. This drill does not require any accessories and the players should be aligned in rows with spacing of 5 yards in between them. As a group, the players will perform a combination of 3 steps, “Jump right, jump left, sprint right” and for the opposite direction, “Jump left, jump right, sprint left.” The team should alternate these combinations with a brief moment between repetitions.

University of Virginia Head Coach, Dominic Starsia, and Assistant Coach, Marc Van Arsdale, discuss a line drill for passing and catching. The Line Drill will reinforce your passing and catching technique; the essential skills that are worked on every day. This drill also contains great conditioning work because the players are always in motion, especially if there are only a few players in each line.

Line Drill: Passing and Catching

Begin with two or three players about 15-20 yards across from another two or three players. One player begins by running towards the opposite teammate and passes the ball. After the catch, that player now runs toward the opposite teammate and passes the ball.

Some key points taught are:

Pass the ball to the box, a space that is defined by above the shoulder, beside the head and not much above the helmet.

The goal is for the catch to be near the ear, with soft hands and an immediate pull back of the hands.

Make a quick pass to the other player – you’re not looking for a lot of cradling in this drill, but a quick release.

Switch hands for off-hand passes and catches.

The next progression would be a catch left-handed, switch hands, and pass with the right hand.

Billy Donovan, who was one of the best guards to play in the Big East during the 1980’s, shows you how to effectively use an inside out dribble. The purpose of this dribble is to fake a crossover, get the defender off balance, and continue in the same original direction. Get an exceptional breakdown of this drill that will help your son or daughter improve their dribbling skills.

Inside Out Drill

Player Movements: The basketball does not change hands with this move. If you are doing an inside out dribble with the right hand, you would jam your left out to fake a crossover, and bring the ball back to the right using the same hand